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The 14 year old emperor of Japan who sent gifts of food and clothing to the group of more than 100 officials that sailed across the sea to Japan.

tiger skins, honey

The officials from the kingdom in Manchuria, north of China, brought these gifts for the Japanese emperor.

five months

Yozei sent people to escort the officials to his capital. They landed in the north, and the capital was far to the south. The journey would take over __________________. The Japanese fixed roads and bridges along the way. When the visitors arrived, there was a celebration.

Horse races, archery, poetry

When Yozei's visitors arrived there was a celebration. Japan's nobles, government leaders, and best poets were invited. ____________, ________ and a _______ contest took place. There was a great feast with much music and dancing.

Archipelago

A group or chain of many islands.

Japan

____________ is an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Asian mainland. It is about 500 miles from the coast of China but it is only 100 miles from Korea.

Volcanoes, earthquakes

The islands of Japan were formed by ____________ and ______________ are common in the region.

Mountainous

The islands of Japan are ______________. The mountains make traveling by land difficult.

Sea, highway

Due to the mountains on the islands of Japan, the ________ became an important ____________ for the Japanese- even for those traveling from place to place on the same island.

True

True or False: For centuries, the sea help protect Japan from invaders. Over time, this isolation also led the Japanese to develop a distinctive way of life.

Heian

The emperor Yozei ruled Japan during the _____________ , which lasted from 794 to 1185. Before this time, Japan's culture- including its literature, laws, and religion- was similar to China's.

Japanese, Chinese

During the 800's, Japan begin to develop its own traditions. Official relations between the _______________ and ______________ governments ended in 894. The split would last for more than 500 years.

Kyoto

Heian emperor's ruled from a new capital, _____________. Like Chang'an it was a rectangle of tree-lined streets. Unlike Chang'an it was not surrounded by high walls.

Mansions, marketplaces, palace

Kyoto boasted __________ for the nobles, two _______________, and a _________ for the emperor.

False

True or False: Although most Japanese buildings were wooden at the time, and fires were rare.

Wide, canals

Kyoto's main street was very _______ - to keep fires from one side from spreading to the other. _______________ running through the capital also provided water to help put out any fires.

Peaceful

The Heian period was a mostly __________ time, during which Japanese culture thrived. Fine architecture, literature, and beautiful gardens all became a part of life for the nobility.

Farmers, fishers, traders, builders

Life for most of the population, however, was very different. ____________, ____________, ___________, and _____________ were usually poor and spend their time doing hard work.

True

True or False: The nobles believe that the importance of their families and their positions within the government set them apart from others.

Ranks, robes

Even among the nobles, people belong to different _________, or classes. In fact, nobleman wore specially colored ________ related to their position in society.

False

True or False: Noblewomen were affected by the same rules as the noblemen and they could hold official positions in the government.

Feudalism

A kind of economic system, in which poor people are legally bound to work for wealthy landowners.

Power

During the 1000s the Japanese emperor begin to lose ___________. He continue to rule the capital, but he has lost control over the rest of Japan. Nobles gain greater power and wealth. They owned etates, or large tracts of land, outside the capital. The work on these estates was done by peasants.

samurai

Rich's estate owners became so independent that they often disobeyed the Emperor. They even hired private armies. They paid these armies to defend them, there esates, and the peasants who worked for them. The armies were made up of warriors called ________________.

Bushido

Samurai warriors followed a strict set of rules for behavior, called ________________.

Honor, wealth, life

According to the Bushido, _________ meant more than __________ or even _________ itself.

Weakness, surrender

The samurai code said that a samurai must never show ____________ or __________ to an army.

death, die, suicide

The true samurai had no fear of __________ and would rather ________ then shame himself. He was expected to commit ritual _____________ rather than betrayed the code of Bushido.

warlord

Over time, the samurai warriors grew in number and formed their own clans. Each clan promised loyalty to a powerful ____________, or daimyo. The diamond expected his samurai warriors to be willing to givr their lives for him

Minamoto

Eventually the _____________ clan became the most powerful of the samurai clans.

Shogun

In 1192, the Emperor gave the title of ______________, or supreme military commander to the leader of the Minamoto clan.

Kamakura shogunate

Minamoto Yoritomo became the supreme ruler of all Japan. He set up the _________________, a series of military dynasties.

With a century after shogun rule began, Japan was threatened by outsiders. One group came from _____________, north of China. Under their fierce and brilliant leader, ______________________, the Mongols had already conquered China and Korea.

Foreigners

For nearly 300 years after the Mongols were defeated in the 1200s, few _______________ came to Japan.

Portuguese, guns

In 1543, several _________________ ships were blown off course and landed on Japan's coast. The Japanese showed great interest in these foreigners - especially in thier _______.

Traders, Missionaries, Christianity

In the years that followed the arrival of the Europeans in Japan, a lively trade developed between east and west. Many European _____________ and ___________________ made the long voyage to these islands in the Pacific. And thousands of Japanese converted to__________________. The European influence in Japan did not last long, however.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

In 1603, ____________________ became shogun. He was determined to bring order to the country. To end fighting among warring samurai bands, he divided Japan into about 250 regions. The daimyo of each region promise to serve the Shogun and swore loyalty to him.

True

True or False: To control the local leaders, the Tokugawa required to each daimyo to live in the showgun's capital Edo for several months every other year.

Peace, thrived, plentiful, population

The Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan until 1867. It was a period of ____________. The economy __________. Food was _____________, the ______________ increased, trade flourished inside Japan, and a merchant class developed. Cities grew, and the arts flourished.

Buddhism

A type of __________________ called Zen became popular in Japan. If emphasize meditation, the practice of good deeds, and reverence for nature.

Haiku

Theater in poetry also thrived under the Tokugawa. __________ - three-line poems that express a feeling or picture in only seventeen syllables - Were greatly admired.

Drama, dance, music

Place featuring lifesize puppets were popular. So was the Kabuki theater. Kabuki combines ____________, _____________, and __________.

Westerners

At the same time,the Tokugawa shogunate was isolating Japan from foreign influences. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu had worried that the Europeans might try to conquer Japan. He and the shoguns who ruled after him decided that Japan should remain isolated from ___________________. They outlawed Christianity and forced Europeans to leave.

Ports, ships

By 1638, They had closed Japan's _____________, banning most foreign travel and trade. The Shogun's also stopped the building of large _____________ that could travel long distances. For more than 200 years, the Japanese would remain cut off from the outside world.